Felafel from Moosewood Cookbook

Dans La Lune's Note:

An exotic vegetarian delicacy... it's SO EASY and SO GOOD! Very flavorful and lots of spice. This only takes 5 minutes to put together and another few minutes of frying. Put them in a pita with shredded lettuce and Tzatziki sauce (Greek Tzatziki Sauce is excellent!) for an easy, delicious, vegetarian lunch or dinner. Figure 3 to 4 felafel will fit in a pita when planning serving sizes.

• Total Time: 20 mins
• Prep Time: 5 mins
• Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 4-6

Yield: 20.0 felafel

• 2 (15 ounce) cans chickpeas , rinsed and drained
• ½ cup onion , minced
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 teaspoons cumin (I usually add a bit more for stronger flavor)
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 dashes cayenne pepper
• ¼ cup fresh parsley , chopped and packed
• ¼ cup water
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1⁄3; cup flour
• oil , for pan frying (I use olive oil which works great)

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients except flour in a food processor.
2. Blend until the consistency is uniform.
3. Thoroughly mix flour into the felafel batter with a spoon.
4. Heat a heavy skillet and add oil to coat completely. Wait until oil is heated and water sizzles upon contact when sprinkled into pan.
5. Drop tablespoons of the batter into the oil, flattening slightly with a spatula like a small thick pancake. When bottoms are crispy and browned, flip them over.
6. Place cooked felafel on a plate lined with paper towels to absorb any residual oil.
7. Keep warm in a 300 degree oven if not serving immediately.
8. ***Note: Felafel may be deep fried, but use a standard vegetable oil as opposed to olive oil which does not have a high heat tolerance.

Reviews

[CatG8908]

This is the best felafel recipe in my opinion! Always comes out great :) I skip the parsley (don't care for it) and serve it on a pita piled high with greens, tomato and cucumber, and drizzled with some tzatziki (plain yogurt, cucumber, lemon juice and the spices from the felafels). It comes out even better if you take the time to cook dried chickpeas!